1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tableting of pharmaceutical, nutritional or vitamin active compounds or compositions, e.g. a poorly compressible drug, and, more particularly, to a new and improved synergistic binder composition and method for making the same, and to processing such actives and binder into tablets of advantageous hardness and friability by direct compression at a suitable compression force.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many commercial filler materials such as microcrystalline cellulose and silicified microcrystalline cellulose are used in the manufacture of tablets of pharmaceutical, nutritional and vitamin active compounds and compositions. Such materials are described by Tobyn, M. J. in Int. J. of Pharmaceutics, 169, 183-194 (1998). However, actives such as drugs which are difficult to compress require tableting machines which operate at high compression forces to provide tablets of suitable hardness and low friability. Also, large amounts of the filler may be necessary to achieve these results, which, disadvantageously, increases the size of the tablet.
A. Moroni, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,617, described a synergistic binder composition for making pharmaceutical tablets of suitable hardness at low compression force, and low friability, which precluded damage to the tablet upon further processing, and without requiring a substantial increase in the size of the tablet. The Moroni composition included a VP-VA copolymer and microcrystalline cellulose.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved synergistic binder composition, and method of making the same, for forming tablets of a pharmaceutical, nutritional or vitamin compound or composition, e.g. a poorly compressible drug, by direct compression at a low compression force, which provides tablets having advantageous hardness and low friability.